Fort McMurray weather in May

In May, Fort McMurray sees average daytime highs of 17°C and overnight lows near 4°C, with 37 mm of precipitation across 7.6 wet days and about 16.1 hours of daylight. It is the 4th-warmest and 5th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs climb over the month, from about 14°C in the first days to 19°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 23% of the time in May, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 15 h 06 min at the start of May to 17 hours by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, May is Fort McMurray's 3rd-clearest and 4th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Fort McMurray's year-round climate.

Daytime high
17°
4th warmest
Overnight low
8th coldest
Precipitation
37 mm
7.6 wet days
Daylight
16 h 06 min
4:17 AM – 8:26 PM
Cloud cover
64%
3rd clearest
Wind
10 km/h
4th windiest
Solar energy
5.79 kWh/m²
Travel score
5.5
out of 10

Fort McMurray is municipality in Alberta, Canada.

Air quality
Good
PM2.5 6.5 µg/m³ · 2019
Density
1,276/km²
people per km²
Founded
1947

Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.

Temperature in May

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Highs climb over the month, from about 14°C in the first days to 19°C by the end.

A typical May day in Fort McMurray reaches about 17°C in the afternoon and slips back to 4°C overnight — a 13°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 9°C and 24°C. Set against its neighbours, May runs about 8°C warmer than April and about 4°C cooler than June.

10°20°30°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
1141
2141
3141
4142
5152
6152
7152
8152
9163
10163
11163
12163
13164
14174
15174
16174
17175
18175
19185
20185
21185
22186
23186
24196
25196
26196
27197
28197
29197
30207
31207

How May really feels in Fort McMurray

Once humidity and wind are folded in, May averages 0 days that feel above 32°C and 9 that feel at or below 0°C — the comfort signal a plain temperature reading hides.

Days feeling ≥ 32°C
0
heat index over the day's high
Days feeling ≤ C
9
wind chill below the day's low

The story in May is cold — wind chill drags the overnight "feels like" below the raw low.

Fort McMurray weather by month

How May compares with the rest of the year at a glance. May is the 4th-warmest and 5th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan-12° / -21°155.16.27.20.0
Feb-8° / -19°123.64.49.10.0
Mar-0° / -13°175.3511.40.0
Apr / -3°245.63.313.92.1
May17° / 377.60.816.15.5
Jun21° / 7911.7017.46.0
Jul23° / 12°8213.4016.96.3
Aug22° / 10°6310.3014.96.5
Sep16° / 518.50.312.54.9
Oct / -2°286.43.2101.1
Nov-4° / -11°185.76.27.80.0
Dec-10° / -19°164.85.76.60.0

Cloud cover in May

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 23% of the time in May.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 16% of May, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 60%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
13664
23565
33565
43763
53763
63862
73862
83862
93961
103961
113961
123961
134060
144060
154060
164060
174060
184060
194060
204258
214258
224258
234258
244159
254258
264258
274258
284258
294258
304258
314159

Chance of precipitation in May

Any precipitationSnow

Fort McMurray gets around 37 mm of rain and snow over 7.6 wet days in May. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable precipitation averages around 25% and peaks near 30% on the wettest days, and about 1 day brings snow. The odds climb toward the end of the month.

0%10%20%30%40%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
1236
2236
3236
4235
5235
6235
7224
8224
9224
10224
11223
12223
13223
14223
15232
16232
17232
18242
19242
20252
21251
22261
23261
24271
25281
26281
27290
28290
29300
30300
31300

Humidity in May

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Most of May feels dry — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.

By dew point, May lands in the dry band about 100% of days. It rarely turns muggy — the humid and sticky bands barely register.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)
11000
21000
31000
41000
51000
61000
71000
81000
91000
101000
111000
121000
131000
141000
151000
161000
171000
181000
191000
201000
211000
22991
23991
24991
25991
26991
27991
28991
29991
30991
31991

Wind in May

Winds average 10 km/h in May.

Across May, daily wind ranges from about 10 km/h on the calmest days to 10 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

051015151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
110calm
210calm
310calm
410calm
510calm
610calm
710calm
810calm
910calm
1010calm
1110calm
1210calm
1310calm
1410calm
1510calm
1610calm
1710calm
1810calm
1910calm
2010calm
2110calm
2210calm
2310calm
2410calm
2510calm
2610calm
2710calm
2810calm
2910calm
3010calm
3110calm

Sunrise & sunset in May

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 15 h 06 min at the start of May to 17 hours by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 114 minutes over May. Sunrise moves from 4:50 AM to 3:54 AM, and sunset from 7:56 PM to 8:52 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
115.14:507:56
215.24:487:58
315.24:458:00
415.34:438:02
515.44:418:04
615.54:388:06
715.54:368:08
815.64:348:10
915.74:328:12
1015.74:308:14
1115.84:278:16
1215.94:258:18
1315.94:238:20
1416.04:218:22
1516.14:198:24
1616.14:178:26
1716.24:158:28
1816.34:148:30
1916.34:128:32
2016.44:108:34
2116.54:088:36
2216.54:078:37
2316.64:058:39
2416.64:038:41
2516.74:028:43
2616.74:008:44
2716.83:598:46
2816.83:578:48
2916.93:568:49
3016.93:558:51
3117.03:548:52

Solar energy in May

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in May, about 5.79 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 0.49 kWh/m² to a high of 5.84 kWh/m² in June across the year — May's 5.79 kWh/m² sits near the top of that range.

0246151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
15.3Bright
25.4Bright
35.4Bright
45.5Bright
55.5Bright
65.5Bright
75.6Bright
85.6Bright
95.6Bright
105.7Bright
115.7Bright
125.7Bright
135.7Bright
145.7Bright
155.8Bright
165.8Bright
175.8Bright
185.8Bright
195.8Bright
205.8Bright
215.8Bright
225.9Bright
235.9Bright
245.9Bright
255.9Bright
265.9Bright
275.9Bright
286.0Bright
296.0Bright
306.0Bright
316.0Bright
Planning a trip in May

Is May a good time to visit Fort McMurray?

Our two travel scores rate May for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal).

5.5
Sightseeing
4th-best month of the year
1.4
Beach & pool
4th-best month of the year

May is a reasonable time to visit Fort McMurray for sightseeing.

What to pack for Fort McMurray in May

From May's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.

In May, Fort McMurray sees daytime highs around 17°C and nights near 4°C. Worth packing: a warm layer and sun protection. About 8 days see rain.

a warm layersun protection

UV index in Fort McMurray in May

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in May peaks around 3. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Fort McMurray peaks around July 13 at about 6 (high) — a little sun protection helps at midday. It bottoms out near December 19 at about 0 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 3 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighModerateLowJul 13UV 6Dec 19UV 0
UV index (midday)Level
Jan0Low
Feb1Low
Mar2Low
Apr3Moderate
May3Moderate
Jun5High
Jul6High
Aug4Moderate
Sep3Moderate
Oct2Low
Nov0Low
Dec0Low

Air quality in Fort McMurray in May

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see where May falls, not just the annual average.

Air quality in Fort McMurray is worst in July — around 20 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 14.2× the cleanest month (October, 1 µg/m³).

Seasonal pattern from CAMS reanalysis, scaled to Fort McMurray's WHO annual average of 6.5 µg/m³.

0102030JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodModerateGoodModerateGoodJul 1618 µg/m³Oct 202 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan4Good
Feb2Good
Mar3Good
Apr4Good
May16Moderate
Jun8Good
Jul20Moderate
Aug8Good
Sep5Good
Oct1Good
Nov3Good
Dec5Good
Location & terrain

Where is Fort McMurray?

Fort McMurray sits at 56.7°N, 111.4°W, 258 m above sea level, in Canada. The nearest listed city is St. Albert, 373 km away.

St. AlbertEdmontonSherwood ParkWîhkwêntôwinSpruce GroveStony PlainLloydminsterLeduc

Topography around Fort McMurray

How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Fort McMurray.

Within 3 km, the terrain around Fort McMurray has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 136 m around an average of 289 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 230 m; within 80 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 581 m.

The land around Fort McMurray is covered by trees (52%) within 3 km, trees (65%) and grassland (26%) within 16 km, and trees (78%) within 80 km.

3 km
136 m
16 km
230 m
80 km
581 m
treesshrubsgrasslandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
May weather nearby: St. Albert 373 km · Edmonton 377 km · Sherwood Park 378 km · Wîhkwêntôwin 379 km · Spruce Grove 390 km · Stony Plain 392 km · Lloydminster 394 km · Leduc 409 km

Canada travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 1
Exercise Normal Precautions
Power plugs
Type A / B
120 V · 60 Hz
Prices
≈ 83% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$55,698
2025
Happiness
6.7 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
97%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
2
per 100k, 2023
Road deaths
5.3
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
High
World Bank
Religion
Christian 53%none 35%Muslim 5%Hindu 2%

Sources: World Bank, US State Department, World Happiness Report, WHO/UNICEF, EF EPI, CIA World Factbook.

Data sources

Temperature, precipitation, cloud, humidity, wind and solar figures are a 1991–2020 climatology for Fort McMurray (56.7268°, -111.381°, elevation 258 m), computed from hourly ERA5 reanalysis — contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information. Sun figures are astronomical calculations, not observations. City data © GeoNames, CC BY 4.0. Map outlines from Natural Earth (public domain); interactive map © Google. UV index is derived from CAMS (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service) clear-sky UV data — contains modified Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service information. Monthly air-quality (PM2.5) seasonality is from the CAMS EAC4 reanalysis (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service), scaled to the WHO annual mean where available. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).